Typically celebrated by modern Pagans
as the 'Celtic New Year' on the 31st of October/1st of November 1,
and described by the heroine Emer as 'when the summer goes to its
rest', Samhain is given as the first of the quarter days written
about in the Tochmarc Emire2.
As the time of year when 'the summer goes to its rest', Samhain was the time of year when all the winter preparations were finished and people were facing the uncertainty of the coming season. It was a time of endings, during which many legendary kings were slaughtered in Irish literature, and which Proinsius McCana referred to as 'a partial return to primordial chaos...the appropriate setting for myths which symbolise the dissolution of established order as a prelude to its recreation in a new period of time.'3
Furthermore, we can infer from the Serlige con Culaind and its description of the great feis, or gathering of the Ulstermen that lasted for seven days around the time of Samhain that feasting and merriment were a large part of marking Samhain4 - a practice that continues among modern Pagans.
Many modern Pagans consider Samhain to be the time of year when the 'veil between the worlds' is particularly thin, and this does have some support in the number of stories that are set around Samhain in which people are attacked or approached by otherworldly beings5. Because of this perceived 'thinning of the veil', folk customs and modern Pagan rites often centre around divination at this time of year, as well as honouring the Mighty Dead.
Words 268
As the time of year when 'the summer goes to its rest', Samhain was the time of year when all the winter preparations were finished and people were facing the uncertainty of the coming season. It was a time of endings, during which many legendary kings were slaughtered in Irish literature, and which Proinsius McCana referred to as 'a partial return to primordial chaos...the appropriate setting for myths which symbolise the dissolution of established order as a prelude to its recreation in a new period of time.'3
Furthermore, we can infer from the Serlige con Culaind and its description of the great feis, or gathering of the Ulstermen that lasted for seven days around the time of Samhain that feasting and merriment were a large part of marking Samhain4 - a practice that continues among modern Pagans.
Many modern Pagans consider Samhain to be the time of year when the 'veil between the worlds' is particularly thin, and this does have some support in the number of stories that are set around Samhain in which people are attacked or approached by otherworldly beings5. Because of this perceived 'thinning of the veil', folk customs and modern Pagan rites often centre around divination at this time of year, as well as honouring the Mighty Dead.
Words 268
1McColman,
Carl. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism. P
2Hutton,
R. (1996). The stations of the sun: A history of the ritual year
in Britain (p. 361). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
3Hutton,
R. (1996). The stations of the sun: A history of the ritual year
in Britain (p. 362). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4Hutton,
R. (1996). The stations of the sun: A history of the ritual year
in Britain (p. 361). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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